Staten Island residents — some in the middle of dinner — didn’t have a lot to say recently to the Republican candidate who knocked on their doors to ask for their votes.

“Sorry to bother you. My name is David Carr. I’m running for City Council,” he said.

But several had their lawns do the talking for them. The neighborhood was spotted with Carr campaign signs.

“At the end of the day, the voters know that Republicans stand for law-and-order, that I stand for law-and-order, that I’ve been chief of staff to the incumbent member, Steve Matteo, for eight years,” Carr told NY1.


What You Need To Know

  • David Carr, top aide to term-limited council member, counting on GOP base to help him replace his boss

  • Sal Albanese, well-known Democrat with police union support, seeking support across party lines

  • George Wonica, relatively well-funded Conservative candidate, could take share of Republican votes

Still, Carr faces a fight to represent the council’s 50th District against Sal Albanese, a centrist Democrat backed by four NYPD unions, and George Wonica, a right-wing third-party contender.

The Mid-Island race is competitive, unlike the many other council elections in overwhelmingly Democratic districts that were effectively decided on Primary Day.

“I think he’s the worst mayor in history,” Albanese said to a grocery shopper as he campaigned recently.

Albanese has run in two election cycles against Bill de Blasio for mayor and is as vocal a critic of his fellow Democrat as any Republican.

Albanese stresses that he served on the public safety committee during his time in the City Council in the 1980s and ’90s.

He told NY1 of law enforcement unions: “They trust me that I’ll be fair when assessing police work. We live in a very, very difficult environment where officers are demonized and people want to defund the police.”

While the North Shore is predominantly Democrats and the South Shore is predominantly Republicans, Mid-Island is a mixed bag politically.

Here, Albanese is counting on cross-party support.

And Conservative Party candidate Wonica, a realtor who’s qualified for matching funds, is banking on votes by looking beyond party labels.

“The biggest gripe that I’ve always heard is that, I’m not voting for this person but they’re the lesser of two evils,” Wonica said. “Well, now we have somebody that’s running for office in this office that’s just like them. They are a small businessperson, they are a father.”

Carr said Republicans know him from the primary, and he’s now talking to all voters.

“Now, we are talking to blank voters who are not in a party,” he added, “individuals who’ve been members of parties that no longer exist and even Democrats to make sure that they know that I’m going to be the kind of council member who’s going to serve everyone in this district, not just some.”

For the open council seat on the North Shore, Democrat Kamillah Hanks is running against Republican Patricia Rondinelli and third-party candidate Jason Price.

To the south, GOP City Council member Joe Borelli is defending his seat against Democrat Olivia Drabczyk.

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